Electrode attachment device



ELECTRODE ATTACHMENT DEVICE Filed April 2, 1954 INVENTORS 27' Charles L. Friedman I a, 6 BY Thomaslfianfield United States Patent ELECTRODE ATTACHMENT DEVICE Charles L. Friedmann, Boulder City, and Thomas J. Baufield, Henderson, Nev., assignors to Titanium Metals Corporation of America, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 2, 1954, Serial No. 420,581

4 Claims. (Cl. 339-275) by clamping its upper end. Melting operations cannot be carried to the point where all the electrode is consumed. The portion under the clamps cannot be melted and in practice, melting must be stopped appreciably short of this point to protect the clamps and'associated structures from the intense heat of the arc. The residual unmelted portion of the electrode is termed the stub and is a source of processing difiiculties since it must be reworked to recover its value either by attaching to a new electrode or by recrushing and blending with new material. Reprocessing of electrode stubs involves considerable manufacturing expense and reduction of the amount of stub material being recycled would be distinctly advantageous. In addition the stub material, for reasons not fully known, often becomes contaminated apparently by its presence in the furnace during melting and in some cases cannot be reused Without involved purification operations.

It is therefore the object of this invention to provide an improved electrode attachment for use with electrodes employed in consumable electrode arc furnaces. Another object is to provide an attachment for a consumable electrode which will appreciably reduce the amount of stub remaining after melting. Still another object of the invention is to provide an electrode attachment which may be employed for a number of electrode melting operations. These and other objects of this invention will be apparent from the following description thereof and from the annexed drawings in which:

Fig. 1 shows a general side view of a device embodying features of this invention.

Fig. 2 shows an end view of the device of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a sectional view of the device of Fig. 1 taken along the line 33.

Fig. 4 shows a sectional view of the device of Fig. 1 taken along the line 44.

Fig. 5 shows a side partial view of a modified device according to this invention.

Fig. 6 illustrates the device of Fig. l as in operation with the electrode clamped in position.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 the attaching device comprises an elongated body portion 10, formed, in the embodiment illustrated, of opposed fiat bars 11, spaced apart and held in rigid relationship by rods 12, which are Welded or otherwise fixedly attached to each other and the inside surface of the bars 11. Inserted in one end of the body 10, is block 13,

which is of cross section corresponding to the cross section of an electrode, one end being notched to fit inside the bars 11, substantially as shown, where it is removably secured as by bolts 14. The other end of block 13 is of configuration to mate with the end of the electrode to which it is to be attached. In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the attachment is designed to be employed with an electrode having a stepped end formed by welding together two tiers of compacts of powdered material. The individual compacts are arranged in the tiers so that their respective end welds are staggered, resulting in the extension of one of the two end compacts out beyond the other. Therefore the end surface configuration of block 13 is formed with vertical faces 15 and 16, and horizontal step face 17. If desired the block 13 may be fabricated of the same metal that constitutes the electrode so that it is readily weldable thereto, the electrode being welded to the end of the block. It is preferable, however to manufacture the block of, for instance, steel and to bolt onto the faces 15, 16 and 17 removable plates 18, 19, and 20. These plates are made of material of the same or similar composition as the electrode and the bolt holes are heavily countersunk to still present a flush outersurface. Advantageously the bolt holes are located so that the plate faces may be reversed when desired for reasons hereinafter explained in more detail. I

When the electrode employed with the attaching device of this invention has a plane end, a flat ended block 21 may be substituted for the stepped block as more clearly shown in Fig. 5.. Under these conditions a flat end plate 22, of the electrode metal is bolted to the end of block 21.

In operation, as shown more particularly in Fig. 6, the electrode 23 is attached to outer plates 18 and 19 and 20, by welding around their abutting outside edges as at 24 shown in Fig. 6. Weld metal of the same composition as the plate and the electrode is preferably employed thus providing greatest strength as well as complete uniformity of material. The electrode with attachment welded thereto is securely fastened by means of clamps 25, firmly maintained in position around the attachment for instance by bolts 26, to lowering mechanism which forms no part of this invention, but for purposes of illustration may include a double link belt 27.

The melting operation is carried on so that as much as possible of the electrode is utilized. This will generally involve melting until the electrode is consumed up to as near as possible the point where it is welded onto the outermost attachment plate. It has been found that the residual stub may readily be broken loose from the electrode plates by breaking the welds. While these welds are adequate for attachment of the electrode and strong enough to maintain the units during melting, they may readily be broken by the action of a chip hammer or pneumatic chisel. The stub, which will be substantially smaller than those obtained by previous melting methods, may be reprocessed as convenient and a new electrode welded onto the attachment plates. After a number of successive breakings and reweldings, the outer edges of the plates 18, 19 and 20, or 22, as the case may be, will be found to be broken or beveled to a point where additional weldments cannot successfully be made. When this occurs the plates are reversed so that a fresh outer face and clean new edges are presented for welding. Even after repeated use when the plates become further unusable it is only necessary to replace these units to restore the attaching device to original condition.

We claim:

1. In apparatus employed in consumable electrode arc melting furnaces, a consumable electrode attachment comprising; an elongated body, and a block extending from and removably secured to one end of said body, said block having a cross section corresponding to the cross section of a consumable electrode to be attached thereto and having an end configuration formed of plates removably attached to said block the exposed faces of said plates adapted to mate with the end of said consumable electrode in axial alignment with said elongated body and being fabricated of material weldable to said consumable electrode and adapted to provide the sole mechanical connection between said electrode and said block.

2. In apparatus employed in consumable electrode arc melting furnaces, a consumable electrode attachment comprising; an elongated body, and a block extending from and removably secured to one end of said body, said block having a cross section corresponding to the cross section of a consumable electrode to be attached thereto and having an end configuration formed of plates reversible face for face removably attached to said block the exposed faces of said plates adapted to mate with the end of said consumable electrode in axial alignment with said elongated body and being fabricated of mate rial weldable to said consumable electrode and adapted to provide the sole mechanical connection between said electrode and said block.

3. In apparatus employed in consumable electrode arc melting furnaces, a consumable electrode attachment comprising; an elongated body, and a block extending from and removably secured to one end of said body, said block having a cross section corresponding to the cross section of a consumable electrode to be attached thereto and having a stepped end configuration formed of removable plates vertical and horizontal with respect to the longitudinal axis of said elongated body and forrning a step, the exposed faces of said plates adapted to 4 mate with the end of said consumable electrode in axial alignment with said elongated body and being fabricated of material Weldable to said consumable electrode and adapted to provide the sole mechanical connection between said electrode and said block.

4. In apparatus employed in consumable electrode arc melting furnaces, a consumable electrode attachment comprising; an elongated body comprising opposed side plates disposed in predetermined spaced relationship, means for maintaining the opposed spaced side plates in said predetermined spaced relation, a block having an end disposed between the opposed spaced side plates, means for removably securing said end of the block to the opposed spaced side plates, the other end of the block having a configuration converse to the configuration of the end of an electrode to be secured thereto in axial alignment with said elongated body, a plurality of plates disposed to cover the converse configuration of said other end of the block, said plates being of a material capable of being welded to the electrode, and means for removably securing the plates to the block to cover the converse configuration of said other end thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 210,460 Kreis Dec. 3, 1878 881,520 Wilson Mar. 10, 1908 946,434 Hartenstein Jan. 11, 1910 1,827,852 Marshall Oct. 20, 1931 1,850,515- Peltz Mar. 22, 1932 2,089,688 Clark Aug. 10, 1937 2,376,943 Smith May 29, 1945 2,562,150 Osborne July 24, 1951 

